Ben Stokes will ‘definitely be bowling’ this summer – Brendon McCullum

England start the Test summer this week not knowing if Ben Stokes is fit to bowl and with an attack that will feature two players who did not play all winter.

Stokes grazed around England’s first net session at Lord’s on Monday, using the dog stick to give throwdowns to team-mates, but did not attempt to bowl himself as he protects his left knee.

Brendon McCullum, the head coach, confirmed James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will not be fit for Thursday’s Ireland Test at Lord’s and Mark Wood is unlikely to be risked, England preferring to save him for the Ashes.

It leaves Stuart Broad to lead the attack with Chris Woakes playing his first Test for two years and Matt Potts back in the side after he was dropped last summer. A four-man attack, with Jack Leach as spinner, is deemed enough by England given a green looking pitch at Lord’s.

Woakes played his last Test in Grenada before the Bazball revolution, missing out last summer with a knee injury, and Potts was an unused squad player on the tour to New Zealand. Potts has started the summer strongly for Durham while old timers Broad and Woakes are about the only experienced bowlers not to suffer an injury in county cricket.

Stokes’s knee will be an obsession all summer for England, and nobody, not even the captain himself, knows on a day-to-day basis whether it will stand up to the rigours of bowling in a Test match. It leaves England with only three seamers and Leach and whether that is enough will be a question that could dog them over the next six weeks.

McCullum revealed that Stokes could even drop down to No 7 in the batting order with England keen to find a place for Jonny Bairstow in the top six given his success last year.

Asked about Stokes for the Ireland match, McCullum said: “Not sure yet, we’ll just keep monitoring it [bowling]. He’s looking fit, I think he’s in great order, he’s got a big smile on his face and he’s very quickly fallen back into the role of leading the group, which is fantastic.

“If he’s able to bowl then great, if he’s not then we’ll find a way to hopefully be able to get the job done another way.

“At some stage throughout the summer he’ll definitely be bowling, but whether it’s this one or not, I’m not sure.”

McCullum arrived last week from New Zealand and the squad met up on Saturday in London, playing 36 holes of golf at Stoke Park on Sunday. Missing from the group was Ben Foakes, McCullum taking a full role in the decision to drop him to accommodate Bairstow. Alex Lees is the only other player to have been left out by McCullum, but dropping Foakes was a decision that attracted more attention, not because of doubts over Bairstow’s positive effect on the team, but because Foakes is such a fine keeper.

Harry Brook, Bairstow and Stokes is a strong, aggressive lower middle order and McCullum talked of having to go “toe to toe” with Australia.

But Bairstow keeps wicket, something he has not done regularly in this format since the 2019 Ashes, and takes the gloves after a seriously broken leg, although England are confident it has not hampered his agility.

“Jonny looks good with the gloves and the opportunity to bat him at six or seven, depending on which way we go with the skipper, will be a very attacking option. As for Foaskey, it was a really tough decision and in this group sometimes you are just unlucky. In this case, Foaksey was just unlucky.

“He’s done a really good job for us and he still has a huge part to play in this team moving forward. He was great when I spoke to him. Naturally, he was disappointed but you just never know when he’ll be called upon again.”

Brook’s dip not a concern for coach

Brook has endured his first serious blip since breaking through with a poor IPL season for Sunrisers that cost him his place towards the end of the tournament. McCullum only exudes positivity so his reaction (“I don't really care to be honest, it didn’t bother me”) when asked about his current form was no surprise, but how Brook recovers from his first setback is one little subplot that will develop this week.

“I know that for us if he's able to recapture any of the form that he’s had then he’s a very, very good player and he'll make a significant difference in the series, so I'm sure Brooky will be fine.”

One of McCullum’s predecessors – Andy Flower – banned talk of the Ashes in the dressing room before the 2013 home series and England players have lined up recently to say this squad has been so focused on the present, and playing Bazball, that they have not discussed playing Australia.

The whole point of this week, with no disrespect to Ireland, is to plan for the Ashes, and reconnect after three months apart following the New Zealand tour.

“The game, that series – the series that’s coming, the Ashes – that’s going to be watched by how many millions of people around the world, how many people throughout the UK, how many young kids, how many people who are uncertain what they’re going to do with their sporting careers or in their lives?” said McCullum.

“How great an opportunity we have to captivate and inspire people to want to be watching or playing or be involved in Test cricket. You can search for relevance right throughout and never find it, but we’re going to have the opportunity in the next month.”